Avon Valley Railway - End Of Season Gala - 16/10/11

A visit to the Avon Valley Railway for their 'End Of Season Gala'. The event was to features goods trains, local passenger trains and even 'The Pines Express' but for me the main attraction was visiting Black 5 no.45379 who was visiting from the Mid Hants Railway. Initial restoration of her actually took place on the AVR at Bitton in the 1970s and 80s, in 1997 she moved to the Great Central Railway (North) at Ruddington where further restoration work took place, then in 2002 she moved to her current home at the MHR where restoration was completed and she was returned to service in September 2010. The AVR is the first railway she has visited since her restoration.

The full line up of locos was:

From the home fleet:

- Robert Stephenson Hawthorn 0-6-0T no.7151
- Chrzanow Ferrum 0-6-0T no.4015 'Karel' (Only ran on the Saturday)

Visiting:

- LMS Stanier Class 5MT 'Black 5' 4-6-0 no.45379
- GWR 1366 Class 0-6-0PT no.1369 (From the South Devon Railway)
- Hunslet 0-6-0ST no.1873 'Jessie' (From the Llangollen Railway)

Shots included in this video are:

- 45379 approaching Avon Riverside Station on a passenger working.
- 1369 making her way to Bitton with a goods train.
- 45379 departing Avon Riverside crossing the bridge over the River Avon.
- 7151 departing Avon Riverside light engine for Bitton.
- 1369 returning to Avon Riverside with the goods.
- 7151 & 1873 run light to Avon Riverside.
- 45379 rolling down the bank on approach to Avon Riverside.
- With a combined tractive effort of 50,476 lbs, 1873 & 7151 storm up the bank with the goods train towards Bitton.
- Taking things easy, 1369 strolls up the bank to Bitton on a passenger working.
- 1873 & 7151 return with the goods train, 1369 also returns with the passenger set.
- 7151 now leading, the two industrial tanks make another storming run up the bank with the goods.
- 45379 takes the passenger set up the bank heading for Bitton & Oldland Common.
- 1873 departs Bitton with the goods set for Avon Riverside.
- 1369 departs Bitton with a passenger working bound for Oldland Common.
- 1873 runs into Bitton from Oldland Common with the goods.
- 1369 returns from Oldland Common.
- 7151 departs Bitton on the local set.
- 45379 departs Bitton for Oldland Common on the goods train.

Filmed on a Panasonic HDC-HS60 HD Camcorder

Enjoy

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• avr
• avon valley railway
• end of season gala
• steam gala
• bitton
• oldland common
• avon riverside
• river avon
• avon valley
• steam locomotives
• lms
• black 5
• 5mt
• 4-6-0
• 45379
• gwr
• great western railway
• 1366 class
• 1369
• 1873 jessie
• rsh 7151
• passenger train
• goods train
• the pines express
• letmadnessbegin
• yt:quality=high

[duckfan0000]

Excellent video, fabulous length, and quality what you would expect in a DVD.

Looks like the weather was kind and that cycle path allows many vantage points. Really nice to see a long doubleheader goods trains with the blue sky as a backdrop. Its great to see 1369 away from her usual stomping ground, I didn't actually know she had left until a saw this, looks great with the GWR goods. The Black 5 looked very nice with the maroon stock. Overall superb shots, you captured the event very well!

[letmadnessbegin]

@duckfan0000 thank you very much mate for your kind words =) It was a very enjoyable day and the AVR certainly put on a great gala, helped of course by the beautiful weather. Was nice to see 1369 out and about visiting another railway, she's a lovely little engine and the Black 5 was a great addition giving great performances. My favourite part of the day though had to be 7151 & Jessie being thrashed on the goods, something you'd expect to see at the Foxfield Railway or Pontypool & Blaenavon.

[TimHall42]

Nice stuff, Kris. Saw you stood down by the boat landing stage, whilst I was behind the Black 5. I could only stay until 1pm, due to family commitments, so I now know what I missed!

[letmadnessbegin]

@TimHall42 cheers Tim =) Shame you had to leave early but it looks like you got plenty of footage, got your video loading now.

[AN21files]

Great video. Particularly liked the industrials on the freght. We went on the Saturday but the timetable was thrown into chaos due to a points problem at Bitton which meant the loop was out of use. But we had a great day out and enjoyed a great Gala. 5* and favd.

[letmadnessbegin]

@AN21files thanks again mate =D I was certainly surprised by how the two industrials were thrashed, was fantastic. Had heard about the points, from what I heard I think it was the Black 5 running over them before they had fully set.

[Itsonlymeee1]

The p-way gang should be lined up n shot. The state of that track I'm surprised a black 5 dident derail the amount of bumping swaying n grinding the wheels were doing. Itll proberbly need re-tyreing after that lol. They need network rail n a tamper to make that line safe

[letmadnessbegin]

@XxBec3509 thank you Sean =) I'm glad you enjoyed it, hope you enjoy the rest =)

[XxBec3509]

Nice video ,,fantastic amount of film,ill finish watching the rest when i get back from work tonight :) thumbs up and liked and a fav :) thanks from Sean

[letmadnessbegin]

@EMuksteam cheers Em =) Yeah it was a lovely gala, especially with the addition of the Black 5 and of course the fantastic weekend weather we had helped =)